The present invention relates to firearm holsters, and more particularly, to handgun holster assemblies, including a protector to cover and protect an optical sight mounted on the firearm, and particularly a protector that automatically opens when the firearm is withdrawn from the holster.
Optical, single point sight devices, such as Aimpoint® sights (available from Aimpoint AB of Jägershillgatan, Sweden), have been available for firearm shooting since the early 1990s. Also known as red dot sights, a single point sight may comprise a frame, an optic, and a light source. The single point sight is attached to a firearm (e.g., pistol, revolver, rifle, and the like) via the frame. The frame is configured to place the optic and the target in the same optical plane, enabling a user to see the target through the optic. The single point sight may be installed near the rear of a handgun slide.
The advantages of single point sights over the conventional iron sights are well noted, however, the size and reliability of the single point sight has limited its use among the military and the police until recently. Companies such as Leupold & Stevens, Inc. of Beaverton, Oreg. and Trijicon, Inc. of Wixom, Mich. have developed very small sights with proven reliability and long battery life, The end result is that gun companies, as well as custom gun makers, are incorporating a small single point sight machined into the slide of a handgun so as to co-witness or align with the conventional front iron sight. Such companies are also machining mounts for such sights into the slides of handguns enabling the consumer to mount his own choice of aftermarket single point sight. Companies such as Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal, S.A. of Herstal, Belgium (FN) have produced a tactical .45 with such a single point sight device. Another custom manufacturer, Bowie Tactical Concepts, LLC of West Union, Ohio, specializes in machining the slides of popular handguns in order to install such single point sight devices.
Holster companies are rapidly re-designing existing holsters to accommodate the raised portion of a firearm caused by the installation of these sights. Holster designs covered by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,501,381 (the '381 patent) and 7,694,860 can be readily modified and designed such that the holster will accommodate a handgun or other firearm with an attached single point sight. The problem with simply altering the present designs of the holster is that the necessary shape of the top of the holster, where the firearm is inserted and drawn from, creates a funnel that directs dirt, dust, lint, fluids, and other types of debris onto the optic of the single point sight. This collection of debris upon the face of the optic reduces if not eliminates its usefulness. The securing straps on typical holsters, as well as the rotating locking devices of the '381 patent, can shield the optic to some extent, but such devices do not have the ability to seal the single point sight from debris over any extended period or when exposed to various environments. These problems of the industry have continued and are not readily solved. The invention described herein, however does so in a unique and effective manner.
One attempt at providing a cover for an optical sight on the slide of a handgun has been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,806, in which the cover is attached by a lanyard to the holster such that when the user removes the handgun from the holster, the cover is pulled off and removed from the sight, making the handgun ready for aiming and firing. Such a solution seems to be undesirable and has not found wide acceptance in the industry.
Several design patents on various covers for various optical sights may be attachable and removable by the user prior to or after withdrawal of a firearm from the holster by the user. When used, such covers require a two-step process to ready the weapon for firing. First, the user must draw the weapon. Second, the user must remove the cover. This two-step process undesirably reduces weapon readiness and increases draw times compared to holstered weapons without a cover.